Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North America EU edition

Quorn manufacturer faces lawsuit

18-Sep-2009 - Quorn Foods is facing a class action lawsuit filed by an Arizona woman who claims the main ingredient in the company’s meat substitute products made her violently ill.

News in brief

World’s biggest burger enters record books

18-Sep-2009 - A Michigan restaurant has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest burger ever sold, according to a Press Association report.

Weight Watchers sues Nestlé over trademark use

17-Sep-2009 - Weight Watchers International sued Nestlé on Wednesday, claiming that the world’s largest food company has misused its logo and points system to promote its own frozen foods brands, say newswire reports.

Cadbury confident despite Kraft bid

17-Sep-2009 - Cadbury has given a confident presentation of its stand-alone strategy in the midst of speculation that the company is unlikely to hold onto its independence following Kraft’s failed take-over bid.

New association urges industry to profit from ecological thinking

17-Sep-2009 - The food industry can clean up its image, benefit the environment, and become more profitable while doing so, says the founder of a new trade association, the Ecological Food Manufacturers Association (EFMA).

News in brief

Wild and Sunwin announce self-affirmed stevia GRAS

17-Sep-2009 - Wild Flavors and Sunwin International have announced self-affirmed GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for their stevia-derived OnlySweet sweeteners.

Pilgrim’s Pride agrees to JBS takeover

17-Sep-2009 - US chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride has agreed to sell a majority stake of the company to Brazilian meat giant JBS in a deal worth $800m.

Exclusive interview

Fructose in the firing line

16-Sep-2009 - In an exclusive interview with Caroline Scott-Thomas, professor of nutrition Dr Barry Popkin said that he was wrong to single out high fructose corn syrup as largely responsible for obesity. Now he’s taking on another contentious issue: Soda tax.

‘EcoSocial’ organic certification arrives in the US

16-Sep-2009 - Organic ingredients supplier Global Organics has introduced ‘EcoSocial’ certified organic cane sugar to North America – a certification that aims to incorporate environmental, social and economic criteria.

Merisant to exit bankruptcy

16-Sep-2009 - Tabletop sweetener company Merisant has announced that it will exit bankruptcy after it filed for Chapter 11 protection in January in order to strengthen its “financial health and long-term prospects.”

Virginia Dare launches masking flavors for stevia

15-Sep-2009 - Virginia Dare has become the latest company to make a move in the competitive stevia market, launching a range of flavors to mask bitter, astringent notes.

New cranberry technology tackles tartness

15-Sep-2009 - A Wisconsin-based company claims it has developed a method to significantly reduce cranberry acidity without using chemicals or additives, which could lead to low- and no-sugar cranberry products.

Few Americans eat enough grains: Survey

15-Sep-2009 - Only four percent of Americans are getting their recommended six servings of grains a day, according to a survey from Harris Interactive commissioned by the Grain Foods Foundation (GFF).

News in brief

Ecological Food Manufacturers Association seeks members

15-Sep-2009 - Helping food companies meet growing demands for foods and beverages that are safe, nutritious and ecological is the aim of the new Ecological Food Manufacturers Association (EFMA).

Cadbury slams Kraft bid and business model

14-Sep-2009 - Cadbury has labelled Kraft “a low growth conglomerate” in a letter restating its rejection of the food giant’s £10.2bn ($16.7bn) takeover bid.

MGP slims to focus on higher margin ingredients

14-Sep-2009 - MGP Ingredients has reported a slump in fourth quarter sales of over 50 percent after reducing production and cutting out unprofitable product lines.

Organic foods are now ‘mainstream’, says USDA

14-Sep-2009 - Organic food has entered the mainstream with strong growth in all sectors over the past decade, including packaged and prepared foods and beverages, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

News in brief

IFF chairman and CEO resigns

14-Sep-2009 - International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has announced that its chairman and chief executive officer Robert Amen has resigned, effective September 30.

Valio expects to dominate US lactose-free market

11-Sep-2009 - Finland-based Valio is taking its lactose-free milk to the US with ambitious market share targets soon after an academic study hit out against the quality of lactose-free dairy products.

GM seeds threaten food supply, claim researchers

11-Sep-2009 - Modern seed companies are reducing crop diversity – and this could have serious consequences for food supply as the climate heats up, researchers claimed at the World Seed Conference in Rome this week.

Thousands of suppliers threatened by $300m Kraft cutbacks

11-Sep-2009 - Kraft Foods is slashing its supply chain costs by $300m - a decision that Leatherhead Food International predicts will dramatically affect suppliers and could result in casualties.

Resource scarcity poses major threat to food industry

11-Sep-2009 - Food and drink manufacturers face being exposed to higher and increasingly volatile prices within the next decade due to scarcity of natural resources, a new report has warned.

News in brief

DuPont test system receives approval for E.coli and Salmonella

11-Sep-2009 - DuPont Qualicon has said the approval of a system to detect both E.coli and Salmonella will save food companies time, as well as cutting inventory and storage costs.

Government report uncovers child labor trail in food

10-Sep-2009 - A new US Department of Labor (DOL) report has found that slavery and child labor are still common in the production of popular food ingredients like cocoa and sugar.